Post by Shelly Diamond on May 27, 2016 19:58:25 GMT
Two years ago.
The sun beat down on the dusty Mexican streets with brutal force. Laura never liked being this close to the equator, she said it wasn’t good for her fair complexion but Jimmy insisted that they see their next “prospect” in person.
”These Mexican jumping beans are all the rage right now.”
Her eyes literally rolled into the back of her head from his subtly racist comment as they walked down the side walk in Mexico City.
”You know you’re two years too late for the cruiser weight scene, right?”
”Nonsense, people love all that flippy shit.”
All around them was the bustling action of a busy living city. Laura actually kind of liked it here even if she couldn’t drink the water and the heat was unbearable. Finally they reached their destination down a dank little alley, an old gym by the name of “Lucha del Sol”. The letters were worn and faded from years of dust ripping away at them.
”Seriously?”
”What?”
”We’re going to find the next big thing in professional wrestler here?”
Jimmy laughed at her, his voice was raspy, old ruined from decades of whiskey and cigarettes.
”Kid, I’ve had mah eye on this one for a while.”
”And?”
”An he’s got potential. Sure, he’s a little bit of a white hat but with some gentle prodding he’ll be puddy in ya hands.”
Prodding? Is that what he’s calling it now she thought.
”Great…”
He pulled her aside suddenly as the red steel doors to the gym were thrown open. Three people came walking out together, laughing, smiling. Two of them were holding hands, a young woman with dark black hair and a young man with a crew cut, he appeared to be of Asian descent. The other man resembled the woman, possibly her brother?
Jimmy “shh”ed her as the three of them passed by.
”What? I thought we were going to try and recruit him?”
”Gotta ‘prod’ him first.”
Laura didn’t understand what he meant until a large white panel van came to a screeching halt at the end of the alley. The two men jumped in front of the woman as the sliding door was thrown open and men with guns came pouring out.
”What the hell is going on!?”
”I told ya, prodding, now shut up and watch.”
The men didn’t resist as the guns were put to their heads but the guys holding the guns didn’t really care, opting to forcibly shove them into the van, even going so far as to pistol whip the seemingly Asian man as he struggled. The sliding door shut as the last of the gun men got in and the panel van was gone.
”What the hell!?”
Jimmy strutted out from the little alcove they were ducked into, a large smile on his face.
”See, this is why I didn’t tell ya the plan, it’s the ovaries, always makes ya so damn emotional.”
”The plan!? What plan?”
”I told ya, the kid’s a white hat but introduce a little tragedy, put him in a dark place, throw a pretty blond in his path an-“
Her hand struck his face as hard as it could, a welt almost immediately appears on his cheek. Jimmy reared back like he was going to hit her but she beat him to it and punched him directly in the nose knocking the over weight old man onto his ass.
”YOU PIECE OF SHIT! You’re going to do to him what you did to me!? Call it off! Call it off RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!”
Blood poured from his nostrils as his raspy voice began to laugh at her.
”Sorry, cartel don’t work that way.”
Her fists balled up, she wanted to hit him again and again and again but that wasn’t going to fix anything.
”What’s his name?”
”What’s it to you?”
”What is his fucking name or so help me god I will beat you to death right here in this alley!?”
Jimmy sneered at her, he didn’t like being threaten, being threatened is what cost Laura her Daddy but he was an old man now and she was angry enough that she’d probably do it.
”Akihiro Nakamura.”
Laura breathed deeply, her chest heaving, she tried to regain her composure, all the yelling had drawn some attention.
”I better not ever see you again.”
She left him there bloody in the dirty street, hell bent on finding Akihiro, hopefully before it was too late and even if it was she’d find him anyway. Jimmy just sat there for a while, lighting up a smoke and pulling a flask out of his back pocket. He took a sip followed by a drag and let out a low raspy “heh”.
”I’ll be seeing ya, kid…”
Now.
We focus on the center plate of the Invictus Championship.
”Last month we made a mistake.”
Slowly we pull out revealing the Invictus Championship around the waist of Zasshu, clad in black and gold trimmed gear. Laura stands proudly by his side in a navy blue skirt suit, jacket open revealing a white tank top, her bright blond hair is down around her shoulders for a change.
”We under estimated Ryan Shane.”
She shakes her head with slight disappointment.
”But Ryan Shane made a mistake as well, he under estimated the sheer brutality of my client when he volunteered his friend and mentor for a ritualistic sacrifice this past Monday Night. Tell us Ryan how did it feel to watch your friend be completely destroyed by my client? How did it feel to not be able to lift a finger to help him? How does it feel knowing that because of your cowardice Muru will more than likely never wrestle again?”
“How does it feel to be a monster?”
“Yes, I called you a monster because what kind of man would offer up his friend, HIS MENTOR for that kind of punishment? You know what that Man of Steel Championship means to us, what we would do to get it back and you still threw your friend to the wolves.”
“Like a monster.”
“My client and I have never pretended to be anything other than what we are, unlike yourself we haven’t advertised ourselves as some honor bound moron who just wants to put on a good show. We are here to win every match, every championship by any means necessary. We are here to be the best that there has ever been or ever will be. We do not hide behind a mask of heroism, we don’t need to. Our methods are tried and true, they are efficient and they will regain us our Man of Steel Championship while you will be left with the grave you’ve dug yourseld.”
She laughs under her breath.
”That’s why we call you a coward, a monster an insecure little shit who hides what he really is for fear of being rejected. Well Ryan Shane, prepare yourself for the biggest rejection of your life since prom night because my client is going to reject you petty little win over him and TAKE BACK THE MAN OF STEEL CHAMPION!!! When he beats you twice in a row in the middle of that ring.”
“No tap outs. Just knock outs.”
“If you’re lucky, which your friend was not, he’ll let you live to compete again another day. But to be honest with you Ryan, we are both seriously considering of doing you the favor of putting you out of your misery at Night of the Immortals. It’s clear from your demeanor and your actions that your heart isn’t really in this anymore. You’re not in professional wrestling for the long haul, you just wanted one more accolade before you rode off into the sunset. Congratulations, you fluked a win over my client and got your little trophy but that is where the fifteen minutes of fame end.”
“Night of the Immortals is when reality reasserts itself over your little fantasy world.”
She shoots you a devilish little grin.
”Night of the Immortals is where the past like you goes to die and the FUTURE takes HIS place on the throne. My client is the future of this business. He’s an unstoppable professional wrestling machine. He kills legends, shatters legacies, his every waking breath is history in the making and you Ryan Shane are going to be nothing more than a foot note, less than a sentence in the biography of the GREATEST WRESTLER TO EVER LIVE! You got lucky once, we won’t be letting that happen again.”
She looks to her client who has been quiet as the dead, arms crossed over his chest as he was listening.
”Mr. Shane, I cannot deny your talent in the ring. While my manager likes to paint the picture of your assured destruction by my hands I am the one who has been in the ring with you. I have witnessed first hand what your determination can accomplish. You are a skilled wrestler, if not a little misguided in your nature. That is no longer up for debate. Very few men in Imperial Wrestling can claim to have beaten me, only you can say you have done it within the confines of the Man of Steel Match. For that feat alone you have earned my praise. You have opened my eyes to something I once thought I was immune to.”
“Apathy.”
“My domination of Imperial Wrestling has been absolute until I stepped into the ring with you. I realize now that I can never rest on my laurels, never underestimate an opponent because even someone as meaningless as you can surprise me. I must thank you for bringing my failure to my attention, for making it clear that I can never again over look the man across the ring from me. Had it happened in another match against another opponent it could has cost me my career and not just the Man of Steel Championship.”
“I must also thank you for Muru…”
“I needed someone to take my aggression out on, a worthy punching bag before I stepped into the ring with you again. Now I can focus on what I need to do instead of what I would like to do. Now I can focus on defeating you and taking back my Man of Steel Championship. And make no mistake Mr. Shane, that championship belongs to me. You simply capitalized on a moment of weakness, a moment I will never experience again. As you have witnessed there is nothing I will not do, no line I will not cross, once we are locked inside that steel cage for the second time the only thing that will save you from my hands is the cold grip of unconsciousness.”
“And perhaps that may not be enough.”
“You see Mr. Shane as much as I needed to destroy Muru to show you who you are dealing with I also need to reassure the Imperial Wrestling roster of who I am. They have seen me in a position they have never seen before, tapping out, the rabid dogs that call themselves the main event will look upon that event as weakness, they will see me as prey, I must show them once more who the dominate predator in this company is.”
“Zasshu.”
“While winning back my championship is the goal, I cannot lie and say beating you beyond the point of ever stepping into a ring again is not on the agenda. You see, I cannot allow such travesty’s as Destiny to occur again. I cannot allow someone of your caliber to claim they are better than me. I cannot allow Imperial Wrestling to see me as anything less than the Legend I am sure to become.”
“They must fear me.”
“You destruction will give them reason to once more.”
He takes a deep breath as he looks down at the Invictus Championship belt.
”I took this championship to prove a point, anything I want can be mine whenever I want it. I want my Man of Steel Championship back. I want to be the first man in this company to hold two active championships at the same time. I want you bloody, broken and begging for mercy.”
Laura speaks up now as Zasshu looks at the camera again.
”It’s simple Ryan, you’re the sole survivor of a past that nobody cares about and it’s time to lay the past to rest. Sunday at Night of the Immortals you step into the ring with Future of Professional Wrestling where you will be buried and forgotten. I hope they saved a bed for you right next to Muru in the hospital because that is where you’re going to end up after Sunday.”
“That or a body bag. We haven’t decided yet.”
Zasshu speaks again in a low angry voice.
”FEAR. THE. FUTURE.”
The sun beat down on the dusty Mexican streets with brutal force. Laura never liked being this close to the equator, she said it wasn’t good for her fair complexion but Jimmy insisted that they see their next “prospect” in person.
”These Mexican jumping beans are all the rage right now.”
Her eyes literally rolled into the back of her head from his subtly racist comment as they walked down the side walk in Mexico City.
”You know you’re two years too late for the cruiser weight scene, right?”
”Nonsense, people love all that flippy shit.”
All around them was the bustling action of a busy living city. Laura actually kind of liked it here even if she couldn’t drink the water and the heat was unbearable. Finally they reached their destination down a dank little alley, an old gym by the name of “Lucha del Sol”. The letters were worn and faded from years of dust ripping away at them.
”Seriously?”
”What?”
”We’re going to find the next big thing in professional wrestler here?”
Jimmy laughed at her, his voice was raspy, old ruined from decades of whiskey and cigarettes.
”Kid, I’ve had mah eye on this one for a while.”
”And?”
”An he’s got potential. Sure, he’s a little bit of a white hat but with some gentle prodding he’ll be puddy in ya hands.”
Prodding? Is that what he’s calling it now she thought.
”Great…”
He pulled her aside suddenly as the red steel doors to the gym were thrown open. Three people came walking out together, laughing, smiling. Two of them were holding hands, a young woman with dark black hair and a young man with a crew cut, he appeared to be of Asian descent. The other man resembled the woman, possibly her brother?
Jimmy “shh”ed her as the three of them passed by.
”What? I thought we were going to try and recruit him?”
”Gotta ‘prod’ him first.”
Laura didn’t understand what he meant until a large white panel van came to a screeching halt at the end of the alley. The two men jumped in front of the woman as the sliding door was thrown open and men with guns came pouring out.
”What the hell is going on!?”
”I told ya, prodding, now shut up and watch.”
The men didn’t resist as the guns were put to their heads but the guys holding the guns didn’t really care, opting to forcibly shove them into the van, even going so far as to pistol whip the seemingly Asian man as he struggled. The sliding door shut as the last of the gun men got in and the panel van was gone.
”What the hell!?”
Jimmy strutted out from the little alcove they were ducked into, a large smile on his face.
”See, this is why I didn’t tell ya the plan, it’s the ovaries, always makes ya so damn emotional.”
”The plan!? What plan?”
”I told ya, the kid’s a white hat but introduce a little tragedy, put him in a dark place, throw a pretty blond in his path an-“
Her hand struck his face as hard as it could, a welt almost immediately appears on his cheek. Jimmy reared back like he was going to hit her but she beat him to it and punched him directly in the nose knocking the over weight old man onto his ass.
”YOU PIECE OF SHIT! You’re going to do to him what you did to me!? Call it off! Call it off RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!”
Blood poured from his nostrils as his raspy voice began to laugh at her.
”Sorry, cartel don’t work that way.”
Her fists balled up, she wanted to hit him again and again and again but that wasn’t going to fix anything.
”What’s his name?”
”What’s it to you?”
”What is his fucking name or so help me god I will beat you to death right here in this alley!?”
Jimmy sneered at her, he didn’t like being threaten, being threatened is what cost Laura her Daddy but he was an old man now and she was angry enough that she’d probably do it.
”Akihiro Nakamura.”
Laura breathed deeply, her chest heaving, she tried to regain her composure, all the yelling had drawn some attention.
”I better not ever see you again.”
She left him there bloody in the dirty street, hell bent on finding Akihiro, hopefully before it was too late and even if it was she’d find him anyway. Jimmy just sat there for a while, lighting up a smoke and pulling a flask out of his back pocket. He took a sip followed by a drag and let out a low raspy “heh”.
”I’ll be seeing ya, kid…”
Now.
We focus on the center plate of the Invictus Championship.
”Last month we made a mistake.”
Slowly we pull out revealing the Invictus Championship around the waist of Zasshu, clad in black and gold trimmed gear. Laura stands proudly by his side in a navy blue skirt suit, jacket open revealing a white tank top, her bright blond hair is down around her shoulders for a change.
”We under estimated Ryan Shane.”
She shakes her head with slight disappointment.
”But Ryan Shane made a mistake as well, he under estimated the sheer brutality of my client when he volunteered his friend and mentor for a ritualistic sacrifice this past Monday Night. Tell us Ryan how did it feel to watch your friend be completely destroyed by my client? How did it feel to not be able to lift a finger to help him? How does it feel knowing that because of your cowardice Muru will more than likely never wrestle again?”
“How does it feel to be a monster?”
“Yes, I called you a monster because what kind of man would offer up his friend, HIS MENTOR for that kind of punishment? You know what that Man of Steel Championship means to us, what we would do to get it back and you still threw your friend to the wolves.”
“Like a monster.”
“My client and I have never pretended to be anything other than what we are, unlike yourself we haven’t advertised ourselves as some honor bound moron who just wants to put on a good show. We are here to win every match, every championship by any means necessary. We are here to be the best that there has ever been or ever will be. We do not hide behind a mask of heroism, we don’t need to. Our methods are tried and true, they are efficient and they will regain us our Man of Steel Championship while you will be left with the grave you’ve dug yourseld.”
She laughs under her breath.
”That’s why we call you a coward, a monster an insecure little shit who hides what he really is for fear of being rejected. Well Ryan Shane, prepare yourself for the biggest rejection of your life since prom night because my client is going to reject you petty little win over him and TAKE BACK THE MAN OF STEEL CHAMPION!!! When he beats you twice in a row in the middle of that ring.”
“No tap outs. Just knock outs.”
“If you’re lucky, which your friend was not, he’ll let you live to compete again another day. But to be honest with you Ryan, we are both seriously considering of doing you the favor of putting you out of your misery at Night of the Immortals. It’s clear from your demeanor and your actions that your heart isn’t really in this anymore. You’re not in professional wrestling for the long haul, you just wanted one more accolade before you rode off into the sunset. Congratulations, you fluked a win over my client and got your little trophy but that is where the fifteen minutes of fame end.”
“Night of the Immortals is when reality reasserts itself over your little fantasy world.”
She shoots you a devilish little grin.
”Night of the Immortals is where the past like you goes to die and the FUTURE takes HIS place on the throne. My client is the future of this business. He’s an unstoppable professional wrestling machine. He kills legends, shatters legacies, his every waking breath is history in the making and you Ryan Shane are going to be nothing more than a foot note, less than a sentence in the biography of the GREATEST WRESTLER TO EVER LIVE! You got lucky once, we won’t be letting that happen again.”
She looks to her client who has been quiet as the dead, arms crossed over his chest as he was listening.
”Mr. Shane, I cannot deny your talent in the ring. While my manager likes to paint the picture of your assured destruction by my hands I am the one who has been in the ring with you. I have witnessed first hand what your determination can accomplish. You are a skilled wrestler, if not a little misguided in your nature. That is no longer up for debate. Very few men in Imperial Wrestling can claim to have beaten me, only you can say you have done it within the confines of the Man of Steel Match. For that feat alone you have earned my praise. You have opened my eyes to something I once thought I was immune to.”
“Apathy.”
“My domination of Imperial Wrestling has been absolute until I stepped into the ring with you. I realize now that I can never rest on my laurels, never underestimate an opponent because even someone as meaningless as you can surprise me. I must thank you for bringing my failure to my attention, for making it clear that I can never again over look the man across the ring from me. Had it happened in another match against another opponent it could has cost me my career and not just the Man of Steel Championship.”
“I must also thank you for Muru…”
“I needed someone to take my aggression out on, a worthy punching bag before I stepped into the ring with you again. Now I can focus on what I need to do instead of what I would like to do. Now I can focus on defeating you and taking back my Man of Steel Championship. And make no mistake Mr. Shane, that championship belongs to me. You simply capitalized on a moment of weakness, a moment I will never experience again. As you have witnessed there is nothing I will not do, no line I will not cross, once we are locked inside that steel cage for the second time the only thing that will save you from my hands is the cold grip of unconsciousness.”
“And perhaps that may not be enough.”
“You see Mr. Shane as much as I needed to destroy Muru to show you who you are dealing with I also need to reassure the Imperial Wrestling roster of who I am. They have seen me in a position they have never seen before, tapping out, the rabid dogs that call themselves the main event will look upon that event as weakness, they will see me as prey, I must show them once more who the dominate predator in this company is.”
“Zasshu.”
“While winning back my championship is the goal, I cannot lie and say beating you beyond the point of ever stepping into a ring again is not on the agenda. You see, I cannot allow such travesty’s as Destiny to occur again. I cannot allow someone of your caliber to claim they are better than me. I cannot allow Imperial Wrestling to see me as anything less than the Legend I am sure to become.”
“They must fear me.”
“You destruction will give them reason to once more.”
He takes a deep breath as he looks down at the Invictus Championship belt.
”I took this championship to prove a point, anything I want can be mine whenever I want it. I want my Man of Steel Championship back. I want to be the first man in this company to hold two active championships at the same time. I want you bloody, broken and begging for mercy.”
Laura speaks up now as Zasshu looks at the camera again.
”It’s simple Ryan, you’re the sole survivor of a past that nobody cares about and it’s time to lay the past to rest. Sunday at Night of the Immortals you step into the ring with Future of Professional Wrestling where you will be buried and forgotten. I hope they saved a bed for you right next to Muru in the hospital because that is where you’re going to end up after Sunday.”
“That or a body bag. We haven’t decided yet.”
Zasshu speaks again in a low angry voice.
”FEAR. THE. FUTURE.”
Well howdy there pardner.